Organic Gardening

Sally Cobb’s Hospice Garden volunteers came to visit. We are enjoying the super fragrant butterfly ginger!

It is the end of September and officially Fall. Even as my lovely summer Zinnias are fading the Salvia Leucantha, White Turtle Heads, Chrysanthemems, Tartarian Asters, Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’, and Boltonia are in their full glory. My Encore Azales and the new Bloom-a-thons are reblooming and the first chestnuts have dropped out of their thorny shells.

Gardening is the #1 hobby in America, and Fall is the season again for festivals and garden events! Here are things to add to your calendar that will expand your mind, improve your garden, and make you smile.

The Guilford Horticultural Society has kicked off its new season of speakers. They meet on the third Monday of the month at the Greensboro Science Center (next meetingOct. 21, 7pm) and any garden enthusiast can join! Membership is a paltry $25 for 7 months of outstanding speakers, and an opportunity to network with some of the best gardeners in Greensboro. Mark your calendar too for their annual Symposium all-day Saturday, February 22. Click here for the meeting schedule: Guilford Horticultural Society Membership Invitation See their website for more info www.guilfordhorticulturalsociety.org.

Greensboro Beautiful’s “Art in the Arboretum” is on October 6th, 12-5pm at the Greensboro Arboretum. There will be juried art and fine craft exhibits, live entertainment on 3 stages, activities for kids, Art Bark for dogs & 2 food courts. It is FREE and FUN! (Have you been to all of our 4 public gardens? See http://www.greensborobeautiful.org/gardens/index.php to find these great places to hang out!)

Did you know that some of the very best exhibits at the NC State Fair in Raleigh are their horticultural competitions?! Not only the best flower buds and arrangements, the hundred varieties of sweet potatoes including the color PURPLE (really, all the way through), there are 10’x10’ outdoor cubicles of themed demonstration gardens. These are totally cool, and really NOT to be missed! This year’s dates are October 17-27. (Youth day is the 21st, not so much fun unless of course you are a youth.) http://www.ncstatefair.org/2013

December 5is Greensboro Beautiful’s Annual Holiday Greenery Festival 8 am-6 pm, Greensboro Farmers’ Market, 501 Yanceyville Street. For me, this event kicks off the holiday season. Go online and pre-order wreath’s poinsettia’s, live topiaries. Pick them up on Dec. 5th and then stay to shop for all gifts at this special collection of treasures from local vendors.

For serious gardeners, the Carolina Farm Stewardship is hosting the 28th Annual Sustainable Agriculture Conference is in Durham November 15-17th. This is the place to go for leading edge discussions on permaculture and organic food production. http://www.carolinafarmstewards.org/workshops/

My 2014 Gardening Course Schedule will be posted on the website in November. All that is changing are the class dates. I will be registering students as soon as 2014 dates are available. Meanwhile feel free to contact me to add you to the class roster for follow-up.

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Ellen’s “Learn to Garden” Blog

My gardens make me happy. I feel that I live in paradise. It is interesting that no matter how nice someone else’s garden may be, including famous public gardens that I have toured, the things that ultimately give the greatest joy are those growing in our own garden! I feel closer to the earth, connected to a higher spirit and wrapped in an energy that can be felt through all of my 5 senses. Perhaps you feel the same way, especially as you have enjoyed some success in your own garden. My goal is to show you how to create your own personal paradise right here in the Piedmont Triad. I hope “Garden Happy!” will take on a whole new meaning and make you smile too.